


Series of Results, A

by flowerpotgirl



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Post Bartlett Administration
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-02-24
Updated: 2008-02-24
Packaged: 2019-05-15 01:32:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14781092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flowerpotgirl/pseuds/flowerpotgirl
Summary: Charlie reflects on his life and experiences in the West Wing.





	Series of Results, A

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

  
Author's notes: Usual disclaimer. Just a random piece of musing.  


* * *

He had watched his mother struggle to support two children and then had her taken away by violence.  
He had taken over the care of his sister and given up his ambition to attend college.  
He had gone for a messenger job and ended up working for the president.  
He had accompanied the President on a routine evening in Rosslyn and ended up in the middle of a hail of bullets.  
He had seen the worry and horror on people’s faces and known that a life hung in the balance only to find out that their trauma was due to him.  
He had dated the President’s daughter causing a hate campaign from ignorant bigots.  
He had stopped dating the President’s daughter only to see her hook up with a loser and end up being kidnapped.  
He had supported the President following the announcement of his MS only to face the possibility of huge legal bills for his own testimony.  
He had been through the rigours of a Presidential campaign and lived to tell the tale.  
He had fitted in study at odd hours of the day around a mindlessly hectic schedule only to be given additional reading by his boss.  
He had worked all hours only to worry about losing his job because he gained his degree.  
He watched a friend be blown up only to watch another friend declare his love by flying to visit her in the middle of a crisis.  
He had watched that friend slowly recover from the trauma only to see her leave.  
He had done his best to live up to the high ideals of the people around him until one of them revealed State secrets to the press.  
He had worked for over six years in the White House only to find himself facing the future with no job.  
He could not believe how much had happened to him and how changed he felt as a person.  
But he sat at Georgetown, listening to a lecture on the protocols for enacting new laws and thought -  
‘I was there when people actually did this. This guy knows nothing. He rehashes books he has read and makes simple mistakes because he has no real understanding, but I have seen the process in action. I have seen laws made and enacted. I have seen the tremendous amount of work which goes into ensuring that all views have been considered and all factors taken into account. I have seen a judge put on the bench and an Attorney General appointed. The traumas and the struggles fade when compared to the knowledge I carry to my dying day.  
I was there and I was part of it.   
Other students look sideways at my battered copy of the Constitution and rub a hand over their own shiny new copy, but I know by whose hand those creases and dents were made. When most of the lecture hall is glazing over as the lecturer drones on tonelessly about vetos I remember a day and a signature. I saw a veto, in person, in the Oval Office. I hear Josh’s voice crowing about ‘the keg of glory’ when there is a discussion group on the role of Congress and, inevitably, in my head there is Donna rolling her eyes at him. The work is so much easier when you have an experience to which it is related. That last assignment that caused so many of the others so much work and worry became so much easier when I accidentally bumped into an old colleague who sent me some background information. Funny how Dr Burns showed his Republican views when he questioned my sources for the essay. Even he would be hard pushed to question the validity of information direct from the White House Chief of Staff. I really thought he would have a coronary in the middle of the tutorial when he found that out. Silly old coot should have read the briefing notes on new students. You can tell who has bothered and who thought they were unnecessary. I have had such a mixture of reactions when I give my name.  
I have been so lucky.   
I look at the student sat around me in lectures and I wonder if any of them will ever experience even half of what I have. The richness of my life so far and the joy of knowing some amazing people far outweigh any negative events. I count myself so lucky to have friends from that time and I must admit it helps at time that they are also ‘friends in high places’. Josh was all set to get Dr Burns sacked and we both know he could have done it, but I just laughed. Now I watch the old guy watching me out of the corner of his eye like you watch an unexploded bomb and I hope he will present his students with a more balanced view from now on.   
I hope I am not even half way through my life span, but whatever happens I have lived more than most people and I carry those memories and the people in them close to my heart.’


End file.
